Report: $1.3M Spent on Hotels in Ethiopia for Obama's Two-Day Stay

August 29, 2015 | By Courtney Coren

The federal government spent more than $1.3 million for hotels during President Barack Obama's two-day stay in Ethiopia in July. 

Four hotels were used while Obama and his team stayed in Ethiopia, The Weekly Standard is reporting. 

The Standard had previously reported that a contract with one hotel totaled $412,390. Two other hotels added another $425,000 to the total. A fourth contract asked for approval for the Sheraton in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, at a cost of $488,141 for 1,236 "sleeping room nights."

A businessman from Florida who was staying in Addis Ababa while Obama was also in town told the Weekly Standard, "The U.S. locals I was working with told me that the U.S. government had bought out the entire Sheraton while Obama was in Addis." 

The Sheraton is also where Obama reportedly stayed while in Ethiopia. 

The other hotels occupied by the president's team included the Elilly Hotel, the Capital Hotel and Spa and the Hilton. All together, the hotels cost $1,325,841.

The contracts for Obama's stay in Kenya have yet to be released.